Kickoff Match
Cesaro & Tyson Kidd def. The New Day (Kofi Kingston & Big E)
What was originally supposed to be a 6-Man Elimination Tag Team Match between all three members of The New Day (Xavier Woods, Kofi Kingston & Big E) and the team of Adam Rose, Cesaro & Tyson Kidd was changed to a regular 2-on-2 Tag Team Match. These two trios have been going at it for the past few weeks with The New Day always coming out on top. That, however, all changed at the 2015 Royal Rumble when Cesaro & Kidd knocked off The New Day. The ending of the match did not come without controversy though because Cesaro, who was not the legal man in the match, hit Kofi with a European uppercut and it allowed Kidd to get the pinfall victory over Kofi. In addition to being disappointed that The New Day did not get the victory, I am also disappointed that the match was changed.
The Ascension (Konnor & Viktor) def. The New Age Outlaws (Road Dogg & Billy Gunn)
Ever since The Ascension had debuted on the main roster, they have shown zero respect towards legendary tag teams of the past. This caught the attention of one of those legendary tag teams, The New Age Outlaws. Going into this match, The Outlaws had every intention of teaching The Ascension a lesson in respect. While The Outlaws certainly proved that they still got it, in the end, it was The Ascension who got the victory in their WWE Pay-Per-View debut and remains undefeated on the main roster. I certainly give the devils their due for that huge victory; however, these two newcomers still need to learn a lesson in respect.
WWE Tag Team Championship Match
The Usos (Jimmy & Jey) (c) def. The Miz & Damien Mizdow
A few weeks ago on Raw, The Usos beat Miz & Mizdow to become 2-time WWE Tag Team Champions together. At Royal Rumble 2015, Miz & Mizdow got their rematch. While Miz & Mizdow came very close to getting their championship back, in the end, it was The Usos who would prevail and still remain champions. What really amazed me during this match was the fact that both of The Usos managed to kick out of their opponents’ finishing maneuvers; this definitely says something about The Usos.
The Bella Twins (WWE Divas Champion Nikki & Brie) def. Paige & Natalya
In the beginning, Paige & Natalya had things well in hand; however, The Bellas would soon take over for the remainder of the match. In the end, just when it looked like Natalya was going to make the much needed tag to her partner, Brie snuck up from behind Paige and pulled her off the ring apron allowing Nikki to finish off Natalya to get the Bella victory. I am definitely disappointed with the ending of this match because Paige was not in the match very much. Natalya should have definitely made that tag to Paige because the WWE Universe should have gotten some hope that they were going to see Paige clean house and get the victory for her team. Another thing that disappoints me is the fact that Brie is not making her sister face up to the way she had mistreated her for months, which Nikki has shown no remorse for might I add. I want to see the Brie Bella that stood tall and fought by her husband Daniel Bryan’s side in his war against The Authority. I truly believe that Brie should be the top face in the divas’ division; but instead, she is aligned with the division’s top heel, her sister Nikki. Nikki has taken everything that Brie has worked for right from underneath her and the worst part is Brie is letting her. Brie needs to avenge herself and put an end to her evil sister’s reign of terror. Bottom line, Brie is and always has been the better Bella.
Triple Threat WWE World Heavyweight Championship Match
Brock Lesnar (c) def. Mr. Money in the Bank Seth Rollins and John Cena
This match went back-and-forth and it could have gone either way. Each man had kicked out of each others’ finishing maneuvers at one time or another. At one point during the match, it seemed that Rollins had taken Lesnar out of the equation when he hit Lesnar with a flying elbow drop from the top rope all the way outside of the ring and through the announcers’ desk. WWE doctors checked on Lesnar’s condition and it was determined that he had suffered a broken rib. Despite that, however, Lesnar rallied back in the end and hit Rollins with an F-5 and got the pinfall victory to retain his championship. This begs the question: Who can stop the pure reign and dominance of Brock Lesnar?
2015 Royal Rumble Match
Full list of Royal Rumble Match participants and eliminations
- The Miz – Eliminated by Bubba Ray Dudley Time spent in the match – 4:01
- R-Truth – Eliminated by Bubba Ray Dudley Time spent in the match – 4:13
- Bubba Ray Dudley – Eliminated by Bray Wyatt Time spent in the match – 5:22
- Luke Harper – Eliminated by Bray Wyatt Time spent in the match – 3:42
- Bray Wyatt – Eliminated by Big Show and Kane Time spent in the match – 47:29
- Curtis Axel – Never even made it to the ring after being attacked by Erick Rowan
- The Boogeyman – Eliminated by Bray Wyatt Time spent in the match – 1:43
- Sin Cara – Eliminated by Bray Wyatt Time spent in the match – 0:50
- Zack Ryder – Eliminated by Bray Wyatt Time spent in the match – 0:47
- Daniel Bryan – Eliminated by Bray Wyatt Time spent in the match – 10:36
- Fandango – Eliminated by Rusev Time spent in the match – 7:50
- Tyson Kidd – Eliminated by Daniel Bryan Time spent in the match – 2:41
- Stardust – Eliminated by Roman Reigns Time spent in the match – 12:49
- Diamond Dallas Page – Eliminated by Rusev Time spent in the match – 2:47
- United States Champion Rusev – Eliminated by Roman Reigns Time spent in the match – 35:40
- Goldust – Eliminated by Roman Reigns Time spent in the match – 6:35
- Kofi Kingston – Eliminated by Rusev Time spent in the match – 3:04
- Adam Rose – Eliminated by Rusev Time spent in the match – 1:01
- Roman Reigns – Winner Time spent in the match – 27:29
- Big E – Eliminated by Rusev Time spent in the match – 15:04
- Damien Mizdow – Eliminated by Rusev Time spent in the match – 1:07
- Jack Swagger – Eliminated by Big Show Time spent in the match – 13:06
- Ryback – Eliminated by Big Show and Kane Time spent in the match – 11:15
- Kane – Eliminated by Roman Reigns Time spent in the match – 17:13
- Dean Ambrose – Eliminated by Big Show and Kane Time spent in the match – 10:40
- Titus O’Neil – Eliminated by Roman Reigns and Dean Ambrose Time spent in the match – 0:04
- Intercontinental Champion Bad News Barrett – Eliminated by Dolph Ziggler Time spent in the match – 6:10
- Cesaro – Eliminated by Dolph Ziggler Time spent in the match – 5:16
- Big Show – Eliminated by Roman Reigns Time spent in the match – 8:39
- Dolph Ziggler – Eliminated by Big Show and Kane Time spent in the match – 2:29
Throughout most of the match, I noticed that the crowd was not very energized. I think that the most likely reason of all is the fact that Daniel Bryan got eliminated, the man that everybody wanted to see win the match. I agree with them, I wish that guys like Daniel Bryan, Zack Ryder, Kofi Kingston and even The Boogeyman would have lasted longer than they did in the match. I also think that guys like Erick Rowan and Xavier Woods should have been participants in the match. Towards the end, I wish that the final four had come down to Ryback, Roman Reigns, Dean Ambrose and Dolph Ziggler; but instead, it came down to Big Show, Kane, Rusev and Roman Reigns. Although I am happy that Roman Reigns won the match, I was really hoping that Ryback would come out as the winner. Kane had set the all-time record for most eliminations in Royal Rumble Matches with 42 eliminations, surpassing WWE Hall of Famer Shawn Michaels. Also, Kofi Kingston once again ended up preventing himself from getting eliminated in a unique way when he got thrown over the top rope and was caught by The Rosebuds, who then placed him back on the ring apron. It was definitely awesome to see Bubba Ray Dudley and Diamond Dallas Page make their returns to WWE and to see The Boogeyman and Zack Ryder return after being MIA for awhile. After Roman Reigns had eliminated both Big Show and Kane, both men got back into the ring to attack Reigns. Then, some familiar theme music hit and Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson made his triumphant return to help even the odds for his cousin Roman. After the cousins had cleared the ring of the two monsters, Reigns would then go on to eliminate Rusev and win the 2015 Royal Rumble Match. The Rock then joined his cousin in the ring to celebrate his victory, much to the chagrin of Authority leaders WWE Principal Owner Stephanie McMahon and her husband and WWE Chief Operating Officer Triple H. So, there you have it, the main event for WreslteMania 31 will be WWE World Heavyweight Champion Brock Lesnar defending against Roman Reigns, at least for now.
